Aperture Aside Photographer's Blog

Facebook Follies

Aggie Villanueva — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:20:00 GMT

I myself am a member of Facebook. Like most of us I saw them as a gentle giant earning good money by allowing us to make new friends and business associates from the comfort of our homes. Not so true.

I’m no web Guru, but I try to keep all my photos scattered throughout the web small enough that they’re useless if stolen. I try to take precautions, but there are so many pages of TOS’s (terms of service) on the many sites I navigate, I admit, I don’t usually read them at gathering places such as FB.

I will be more studious in the future. I never suspected what I was agreeing to by uploading a sampling of my works for friends and associates to view. Do you?

Member, Carolyn D’Alessandro, sent me this link. Call me naive, but I didn’t know what rights Facebook claims until I read this post at The Consumerist.

Facebook's New Terms Of Service: "We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever."
By Chris Walters Feb 15 2009
The Consumerist

Now, anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later.* Want to close your account? Good for you, but Facebook still has the right to do whatever it wants with your old content. They can even sublicense it if they want….more Facebook Do What They Want

Even if you signed up at Facebook before the new TOS was in effect, beware the phrase, “these terms are subject to change at any time without notification” or any similar wording.

I take responsibility for not reading the TOS before signing up. My bad. And I immediately deleted my photos from Facebook, but in reality this is virtually useless (irony intended). Once uploaded they can be forever in cache. Still, I know now not to upload to Facebook any photos for which I wish to retain copyright, no matter the size, no matter the watermark.

Read Read Facebook’s Terms of Service

Follow the Follies

Facebook Reassures Users in Wake of Service Terms Change
February 16, 2009
BreitBart.com

Facebook on Monday said it is not usurping users’ content despite changing service terms to claim “perpetual worldwide license” to anything posted at the social-networking website....more Facebook Reassures

Facebook’s Terms of Use: From Bad to Beyond Worse
by Jim Goldstein
February 17, 2009

The latest buzz across the web in the past couple of days has been the increased awareness to the outrageous modifications to the Terms of Use (ToU) at Facebook and the impact to Creatives, particularly photographers….more Bad to Worse

Facebook’s Terms of Use Update
by Jim Goldstein
February 18, 2009

For those that took an interest in my earlier post regarding Facebook’s revised Terms of Use “Facebook’s Terms of Use: From Bad to Beyond Worse“, news is just now coming out that Facebook has reverted to an older version of their Terms of Use dated September 23, 2008. Another notable development....more TOS Update

FaceBook Responds to Uprising With Terms Update
& Invitation to Participate in New FB Bill of Rights
Update on Terms
by Mark Zuckerberg

A couple of weeks ago, we revised our terms of use hoping to clarify some parts for our users. Over the past couple of days, we received a lot of questions and comments about the changes and what they mean for people and their information. Based on this feedback, we have decided to return to our previous terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised.

Many of us at Facebook spent most of today discussing how best to move forward. One approach would have been to quickly amend the new terms with new language to clarify our positions further. Another approach was simply to revert to our old terms while we begin working on our next version. As we thought through this, we reached out to respected organizations to get their input....more Facebook Blog Responds

Write to Publish

Aggie Villanueva — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:28:00 GMT

Write to Publish

Blog by Robin Sullivan, Fairfax, VA

Highly recommended.

Artists notoriously ignore business and marketing arenas. As Ms. Sullivan says, “I've learned a lot about promotion and business: the two things writers feel the least comfortable with, and yet very important aspects of their writing careers.

I discovered this new blog (about two months old) through Goodreads.com, and it’s filled with such insight into the back end of the art world that I would venture to suggest, “you must subscribe.”

Ms. Sullivan’s Write to Publish blog is directed toward writers, but as a photographer who publishes and markets my work, I find her information very helpful. Most photographers seeking to earn money at their craft must learn marketing skills. We usually end up e-publishing some of our work/knowledge, creating tutorials, etc. All these media have to be promoted.

The two fields intersect at many points. Robin starts us off with the basics, and like an online university, builds the depth of her posts until we emerge educated on the issue. Robin’s background prepared her well.

Vermont Creative Software - a leader in GUI tools used by programmers to create applications in the 1980's.

Spectrum Design - an advertising agency specializing in marketing communication materials (websites, brochures, direct mail pieces) for high technology companies.

Ridan Publishing - a small press always looking for high quality writers.

When her husband, Michael Sullivan began a six-book series, The Riyria Revelations, Aspirations Media Inc., she quickly obtained a wealth of hands-on experience about the business/promotion side of writing.

“It was my job to take his written word and get it out to people,” Ms. Sullivan explains. “Along the way I've, made some mistakes (and learned from them) and met a lot of authors struggling with the same issues. My goal is to get things I've learned out of my head and into the hand of other writers so they can avoid mistakes.”

If you live in the Washington, DC area you’ll be happy to note Ms. Sullivan leads a 340 member group where she lectures regularly. “I never charge for these seminars, I think authors have too many people trying to steal their money to make their dreams come true. I just spent a lot of time doing research for my husband and don't want the knowledge to die with me - I'd rather share it with others.”

Subscription Note: Robin offers an RSS Feed subscription, but I always forget to check my feeds. I prefer having new posts arrive in my email. This isn’t offered by her blog. But if you want to subscribe via email, you can go to FeedBlitz http://www.feedblitz.com/. Scroll down along the left hand side and look for the "Subscribe to Anything" button. Enter this URL: http://www.write2publish.blogspot.com/ Hit subscribe, then enter your email address.

Aggie Villanueva Is Interviewed Live February 18, 2009

Aggie Villanueva — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:26:28 GMT

I'm being interviewed on Shirley W. Mitchell's live internet radio show, Aging Outside the Box™

Now it's out -- everyone knows I'm aged! Seriously, I'm honored to be Shirley's guest, and looking forward to chatting with her, and you -- they take callers. The show is aired in 139 countries with an estimated 4 million listeners. I hope you join us too. Shirley is the dynamic spokesperson of the Baby Boomers.

The network is ArtistFirst Radio, if you'd like to tune in at any time just for the great music.

Here is the information with all links they sent me to share:

Feb. 18, 2009... 6PM-CST... "Timing-The Logic Behind the Lens" with our "Guest", Peggy "Aggie" Villanueva, known as the "Grandma Moses of the American Southwest", a Photographic Artist, Author, Editor & Publisher and Owner of Aperture Aside Photographer's Web Hub on "Aging Outside the Box™" Radio Show with National Author/Writer/Syndicated Columnist/Speaker and Celebrity Radio Talk Show Host, Shirley W. Mitchell, on the ArtistFirst World Radio Network as they discuss "Timing-The Logic Behind the Lens" with... Chase the Wind & Rightfully Mine, How To Teach Yourself, Photography - God's Library, and Aperture Aside. Join us "LIVE on AIR" every Wednesday Night at 2PM-HIST, 3PM-AKST, 4PM-PST, 5PM-MST, 6PM-CST, 7PM-EST and 8PM-AST. Listen to the Live Show or Listen to the Archive !

Or, have a look at the Interview Brochure.

If you miss the live interview, just Listen to the Archive anytime after Feb 20, 2009.

Daily PR from Peter Shankman’s Help a Writer Site

Aggie Villanueva — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:57:00 GMT

In the process of researching something totally unrelated to this topic I stumbled upon wunderkind Peter Shankman’s site, Help a Reporter.com. Delighted with his foresight and grasp, I was sidetracked there until deciding to put the other research on hold.

Peter’s brainchild began as a Facebook group, but soon outgrew the site. The Help a Reporter list unites specialists of any area and the press. Businesses need PR and the press needs sources to write about. Shankman created a site where we sign up to receive daily emails filled with reporters looking for sources. The results: we gain as much “help” as the reporters.

I move simultaneously between the worlds of writing and photography, and Peter’s site is ideal for both. If you are looking for ways to promote your business you must sign up with this list.

Did I mention it’s FREE? But donations are welcome to various charities. And there is only one rule, in Peter's own words:

“This is really the only thing I ask: By joining this list, just promise me and yourself that you'll ask yourself before you send a response: Is this response really on target? Is this response really going to help the journalist, or is this just a BS way for me to get my client in front of the reporter? If you have to think for more than three seconds, chances are, you shouldn't send the response. In the end, we could probably all stand to do this a bit more, huh?"

For Getting Press if You Are a Source:

http://www.helpareporter.com/

For Writers Seeking Sources:

http://www.helpareporter.com/press/

Founder Peter Shankman

About Peter: http://shankman.com/

COE, Entrepreneur, Adventurist

Dan Heller Illuminates the Dark Underside of Our Fair Use Copyright Clause

Aggie Villanueva — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:25:00 GMT

I have an answer now to the Fair Use dilemma for my book, thanks to one of the most knowledgeable and generous men I’ve met online. He summarized the reasoning behind the Fair Use clause in one paragraph, while all the pages I read and reread at all the .gov sites only added to my confusion. His one paragraph summarized the why of Fair Use for all future reference. NOW I get it.

My acquaintance with DanHeller began when I was compiling my reprint-permissions request letters for the AA journal, Dan Heller’s included, when his Photo Business Blog arrived on the subject of the abuse of the Fair Use clause in our Copyright law.

I recommend you read the article, Heckler's Veto: Blog Style and subscribe to his insightful photography business blog.

When I emailed Dan asking permission to use lead sentences from his site and his book-thumbnail in the Aperture Aside Photograher’s Resource Journal he responded with a kind “yes” and explanation that I didn’t need permission for this as it is under the Fair Use clause. But he thanked me anyway for letting him know.

I sent Dan the pre-publication issue with his links and we corresponded a handful of times while he freely offered advice on my site, journal and even the problem I was having opening a Google Adsense account. Always with his delightful dry wit.

So valuable is Dan Heller’s response I am reprinting our correspondence in full so that you may also benefit.

Aggie to Dan Heller

You have been so helpful with your advice; may I intrude once more with a question?

You seem extremely familiar with the Fair Use Clause of our Copyright law. I've reread it dozens of times, and one time I think I can use my examples as Fair Use and the next reading I think it says I can't.

I need to quote one-sentence to one-paragraph from various works for my book teaching the craft of rewriting. This book will be self-published and offered for sale. These short examples I want to use would basically be showing the wrong way to write. I use mostly my own mistakes as examples, but that gets old fast.

I've emailed all the writers asking permission but none have answered. I can't blame them, though I am very delicate in the book and stress that all writers do it wrong, that's why the craft of the rewrite is so vital, and that perfection cannot be obtained in the written word, at least in the English language.

The examples I want to use are all from online article submission sites that stipulate that you may freely reprint the articles without permission, but only in full, and of course, I only want to use a few sentences.

My book is for educational use which is allowed under fair use, but it's also for profit, not in a school setting. The more I reread the fair use clause the more confused I get. Do you have any advice for me?

Please forgive me if I've overstepped my bounds with this request, and feel free to tell me to shove off! No matter, have the best day ever!

Dan to Aggie Villanueva

The reason you're confused about Fair Use is because it's not finite -- it's based on a concept: that you can cite other works in context of talking ABOUT them. If you talk about someone's photos, you can include the ENTIRE photo. If you want to talk about ALL of someone's photos, then you can include ALL their photos...provided that you talk about each and every one of them. You _can't_ talk about one photo, and include ten photos.

As you can see, you can't really put this in writing in finite, absolute numbers.

So, with regards to your desire to quote other peoples' writing--- you can quote any part of their works without permission, provided that what you're quoting is relevant to what you're talking about. In fact, you can quote an entire book, provided you talk about each and every paragraph, or "element" or "style", and so long as "all of it" is necessary in order to express the point.

If you're going to talk about "bad writing styles" you can copy text that illustrates the point "sufficiently."

BTW, you have purchased my books, right?

Aggie to Dan Heller

Gulp...no I haven't. And I'm blushing now. You have been so kind and generous. And I really respect your knowledge now that I know you. I'm not really a skeptic, but there are so many people claiming to be able to tell you "HOW" that I don't really buy how to books. But I'm on my way now to purchase your valuable books.

I'm not saying at all that I thought you were a scam, or that everyone is a scam. Please don't misunderstand. But money is so tight that it takes some research to know where to spend it. And the truth is I spend so much time researching to find valuable advice to offer in my journal and on my site, there's not much time left for me to study the things I want to study.

But again, no excuses. I'm on my way to your site. And again I can't thank you enough for solving my dilemma. May I post your answer to me in the Fair Use thread I started in my forum, with a link to your books, of course? Oh, wait I don't need permission because that's fair use!!!! You are super. Is there anything I can do for you in return? If there is just holler.

Dan to Aggie Villanueva

Quote Aggie: May I post your answer to me in the Fair Use thread I started in my forum, with a link to your books, of course? Oh, wait I don't need permission because that's fair use!!!!

yay! You're learning!

Quote Aggie: You are super. Is there anything I can do for you in return? If there is just holler.

buying books from my site is all I ask.

Aggie to Dan Heller

The order just went through. Thankx again, Dan. You always make me chuckle. I look forward to that same sense of humor in your books. Have the best day ever.

Aggie's Year Starts With a Photographic Bang

Aggie Villanueva — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:43:00 GMT

I'm Honored to Announce

I am humbled that Dry Heat Photography Gallery asked to represent me in Corrales, NM. An exclusive gallery, I am among about six artists chosen for representation.

I was equally honored to be asked to show in the invitation-only exhibit at

Art Gallery 66, Women and Their Works. Five of my pieces hang there from the artist's reception January 16, 2009, through the winter months.

Three of my artworks were accepted into the winter exhibit, Freeze Frame, also at

Art Gallery 66.

DiscoveredArtists.com accepted me for representation. They work rather like a personal agent. There is a small yearly fee, and if they accept you, they run six campaigns per year presenting your work to over 40,000 potential buyers each campaign.

2009 has begun with a bang. I sincerely hope the year is treating you to a celebration of life.

Shown below are the pieces hanging in the Freeze Frame Exhibit, and Women & Their Works Exhibit:

Freeze Frame: And Through the Woods

Freeze Frame: Bejeweled B&W

Freeze Frame: Snowclouds B&W

Women & Their Works: Aspen Stand

Women & Their Works: Harvest Garnish

Women & Their Works: I Am All Colors

Women & Their Works: Teimpos Antes Sepia (Times Before)

Women & Their Works: Verdurous Harbor

Basic Blending of Two Photoshop Layers

Aggie Villanueva — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:17:00 GMT

Ray Strassburger shared a little of how he got into photo manipulation in my former newsletter NM Photo Club Newletter. He has a gift for simplifying the process that I'm honored to share with you. And now Ray has kindly offered one of his many tutorials. Enjoy the process!

Basic Blending of Two Images
by Ray Strassburger

Ray Strassburger's gift for amazing blending effects is extraordinary. Check out just a few of his sites and you'll understand what I mean.
BetterPhoto's Basic BetterPholio
Deviant Art
Red Rayven Media
Wizard FX
Santa Fe Ray MySpace

Aggie's New Photo Book

Aggie Villanueva — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:55:00 GMT

Dark Enchantment of the Lands
Black & White Study of Spirit's Handiwork

A Fine Art B&W study of Spirit's handiwork seen within the inspiring landscapes of the American Southwest. 29 original fine art photos in a 13X11 hardcover landscape book with dust jacket. 100-pound silk-finish premium paper, 35% heavier than standard, featuring improved opacity and stellar image quality.

Available Now

Dark Enchantme...

Lrg Hrdcvr w/dustja...

By Aggie Villanueva

Book Preview

Took Kit: BushHawk Shoulder Mount & Hyperdrive Colorspace

Aggie Villanueva — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:01:00 GMT

I have two really awesome gadgets for you.

The BushHawk Shoulder Mount is a must have for wildlife and bird photographers as well as sports enthusiasts.

The BushHawk Shoulder Mount really helps to keep the camera steady as you are swiftly changing position to keep up with the action of your current subject in fast moving situations. It looks a bit like a rifle mount at first, but instead of a gun barrel there is a camera lens. It is comfortable to use and does an amazing job of holding the camera steady even when you are holding the camera for a long period of time.

Another benefit to the BushHawk Shoulder Mount: it is half the weight of a tripod. My tripod weighs about 6 pounds, without the camera attached, and the BushHawk Shoulder Mount weights about half of that, at just three pounds. So for hiking and long treks this might be a better choice as it is lighter and more compact.

This is not something I own yet (unfortunately), but I have tried it and it is something I will be purchasing … hopefully before the November 8th field trip: The Festival of the Cranes at the Bosque Del Apache.

Since I am talking about hiking and long treks another must-have gadget is a memory card downloader for photography enthusiasts who run out of memory card space on a photo shoot. Now this is way more compact and way more convenient than carrying your laptop with you, if you have one. I know I am always running out of memory card space no matter how many memory cards I bring with me, and I believe this is the answer, at least for me.

They are not cheap, but the 500 GB Hyperdrive Colorspace is one I will be purchasing eventually (meaning when I save enough money).

Batteries Hyperdrive Browser

The 500 GB Hyperdrive Colorspace is a color LCD that is equipped with a hard drive that allows you to not only backup but store and view photos/data from memory cards on the go, without the need for computers or external power, according to the website. It can download from eleven different memory cards and has a 3.2 inch High Resolution color LCD screen that displays JPEG & RAW photos. It aslo comes in smaller drives.

500 GB = $599, $1.19 per GB.

80 GB = $339.00, $4.23 per GB.

120 GB = $379.00, $3.15 per GB.

160 GB = $399.00, $2.49 per GB.

250 GB = $499.00, $1.99 per GB.

320 GB = $539.00, $1.68 per GB.

500 GB = $599, $1.19 per GB.

While these gadgets are not cheap, they will come in very handy on those awesome photo shoots. Have fun and hope you get some great shots.

Use Your Built-In Light Meter

Aggie Villanueva — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:01:00 GMT

Use Your Built-in Light Meter

by Joyce Meck

The most technologically advanced metering option is the default Evaluate system, but don’t count on it to be the most effective for hi-key or low-key images.

Architects, engineers, lighting directors...and photographers all use light meters to measure the value of light. For years, photographers used hand held light meters to measure the levels of light in their scenes. Today, most digital cameras have highly sophisticated light-metering computers.

The light meter uses one of several built-in metering systems to measure the existing light in your scene and provides either the appropriate speed or f-stop. DSLR cameras have as many as four types of metering systems: Evaluate, Spot, Partial, and Center-weighted. Less expensive camera models may only have two or three of these options.

Evaluate is the default system because it is the most technologically advanced option, therefore is suitable for most conditions. Evaluate breaks the total area of your scene into segments and analyzes each to produce the best overall exposure, while ignoring the darkest areas.

Evaluate metering ‘evaluates’ the main subject’s position and brightness, as well as the background’s brightness and lighting. The evaluate option may also be called Multi-segment, Matrix or Pattern metering. You can be comfortable using this setting most of the time, as it will net good to outstanding results for most situations.

If it is so great, why bother to change it? Most of us have taken a backlit shot (when the background is much lighter than the point of your focus) and ended up with a silhouetted subject surrounded by a blown out white background.

For this type of shot, try using the Partial metering system, which takes into consideration only about 8% of the viewfinder’s center, preventing the object of focus from becoming just a black shape. Partial metering ignores much of the background.

The vulture photo is a perfect example of when Partial or Spot metering should have been used. Evaluate metering averaged the light and dark areas for the exposure. Partial metering exposes just for the darkness of the bird, ignoring the background so we can see far more detail.

The vulture was shot at 1/400s, f/5,6, ISO 100, 300 mm IS Lens.

Further control a difficult lighting situation by using the Spot metering mode. This setting meters a very specific part of your focused subject or scene. Metering is weighted at the center of your viewfinder and only takes approximately 3.5% of what you see into consideration to determine the correct exposure for your subject.

Center-weighted or Average metering is weighted at the exact center and is then averaged for the rest of the scene.

The two hearth examples are shot with identical settings – AV mode, Auto White Balance, f/5.0, 1/8 s, ISO 200, 75mm, no flash. The single difference was the metering system used. The Evaluate shot may be the better exposure because everything EXCEPT the darkest area was taken into consideration for the correct exposure. The ‘spot’ metering shot ignored EVERYTHING but the center area.

The two bird feeder shots also use identical settings – AV mode, Auto White Balance, 1/250 s, f/5.6, ISO 200, 380 mm, no flash. Notice the Evaluate shot has little overall contrast as opposed the Spot image.

Now, let’s go outside the box for a moment. Try these experiments:

High-Key images have little, to no, true black areas in them and may be the result of overexposure, or just the nature of the subject.

Let’s say you’d like to deliberately create a high-key image. Look for subjects that have little difference between the brightest and the darkest areas. The easiest way to create a ‘high-key’ image is to Spot Meter and base the exposure on a shadow area that still retains some detail.

Lock in the reading by pointing to the shadow area before recomposing the shot and actually firing. Take a series of exposures starting with the correct metered exposure, and then ‘bracket’ your shots by overexposing by one stop for each new exposure. Change the f-stop one stop upwards at a time and you will eventually get the result of a light, airy pastel image.

Low-Key images have minimal white, or bright, areas and might be the result of underexposure, or again, the nature of your subject. To deliberately create a low-key image, look for scenes with a broad range of shadow to bright areas, like a building or any other object with one side to the sun and the other in shadow.

Take a series of exposures, starting with the correct one using Spot Metering. Again, bracket your shots by underexposing one stop at a time. Stop down one f-stop at a time to underexpose the composition until the highlights become smaller and smaller. The result will be a moody image with sharp contrasts by forcing the mid-tones to be darker while the highlights will remain bright.

This seascape was pale and nearly blown out. By forcing the mid-tones darker and allowing the small bright areas to remain bright, I deliberately shifted the key tone for a low-key image with more drama and mood.

When exposing for Low-Key images, concentrate your exposure on the darker areas with Spot metering; when exposing for High-Key images, concentrate your exposure on the lighter areas

Get used to trying a variety of combinations to control the outcome of your shots, Combine each of the different metering modes with different ISO settings, f-stops, speeds and white balance settings to see how much control you have.

Keep shooting!

How to Market Yourself

Aggie Villanueva — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:11:00 GMT

How to Market Yourself

Break Into the Photography Market With These Easy Steps

By Betsy Haas, Business Consultant

In my business life I found the bigger I dream and pursue those dreams, the more comes true. One of the biggest lessons I have learned is ‘You have not because you ask not’. I am surprised how many people are willing to help if you ask politely.

1. Create a wish list of types of businesses you can peruse. Don't be timid in this area. This is your foundation. This creates your list of prospects.

Try to visualize the whole picture of what you would like your photography business to look like. How would you like it to fit into your life? How much money do you want to make? Dream Big!

Now, from your wish list, create a list of types of businesses you think may have interest your art then Google them.

Example: Retail Artwork (those who like to create calendars for sale in specialty shops, etc.), Interior Designers (specializing in the Southwest, Mountain Photos, Nature, whatever your genre), Art Galleries….Dream Big! I can’t say that enough.

2. Research: As you Google this list, review each business and choose what appeals to you, or those you feel your work will appeal to. Make sure you have the company name, address, phone number, contact name. If there is an owner, manager and email address listed, use that information. You should find the address and phone number under ‘Contact Us’ or at the bottom of the web site.

Contact names take more time, but are important. Look around the web site. If they have a name under ‘Contact Us’ that is a good place to start. But there is often no name listed.

Look around the web site for articles or newsletters. Read them for names and titles of a director or VP. Don’t be timid about calling. When you do call someone at this level, it may take many attempts before you reach them, or you may reach their assistant.

Tell them what you are looking for and they will either let you know if there is any interest or give you the name of the person who manages that area. Be bold -- ask for the manager’s direct number. Then when you call a manager, tell them you were referred to him by the VP. This is called top down selling.

I used this technique to call Disneyland. I read an article about their plans to expand business, with needs in my industry. The article quoted one of their VPs. I called and got his assistant. She asked me to email my information. Within a few days, the President of Global Retail called to discuss his needs. I was able to explain in further detail how we may assist.

Other methods for contact research are Google Finance and Yahoo Finance. On the Google home page there is a More link. Click More, then click Finance and type in the business name. This will provide a big picture of this business. The same method applies to Yahoo.com.

These steps will take you a long way toward finding the right person to talk to, and may take several days. Don’t let yourself get fried. When you tire, take a few days break and come back to it fresh.

3. Prepare Info for your List: When your list, with contact info, is complete, start thinking about what kind of information you will send to your prospect, i.e. media kit, resume, brochure, etc. Make sure you have them in both hard copy and electronic version to send both email and snail mail.

And don’t let titles like resume and media kit scare you. This is simply a tool to provide more information to anyone who shows interest.

When you make that call, or write that email, your opening statement is vital. You need to explain who your are and why you are calling/mailing/emailing. Make sure you are brief and clear with this message. This makes the difference in how far you get in talking to the people you reach.

Best of luck to each of you as you begin the Sales/Marketing process to advance your artistic careers. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Betsy.haas1@gmail.com

Shoot the Sunset

Aggie Villanueva — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Shoot the Sunset
by Betty Gross

One of my all-time favorite movies is Mr. Holland’s Opus. Many would say it’s a predictable little feel good movie, but I find that there’s a message in there that fits photographers to a Tee -- a lesson that is repeatedly taught in photography how-to magazines.

In the movie, Mr. Holland is desperately trying to get through to a student that she must not rely on her technical abilities so much, but throw caution to the wind and interject emotion.

After several frustrating attempts, Mr. Holland asks the student to name a moment in time that she can close her eyes to see and feel by merely thinking of it. The student grabs a moment from her memory bank quickly and relates how her father always describes her beautifully bright red hair as a brilliant sunset. The emotion that crosses the young woman’s face is evident. Mr. Holland’s advice? “Play the Sunset.”

When you’re wandering the woods, city streets, or wherever it is you photograph, do you interject your emotions in your compositions, or like so many others, do you become embroiled in the technicalities of photo composition? I recently read an article that stated very simply: Learn all you can about the technical side of photography, then throw it all out.

On a recent photo outing I noticed one of the members of the group off to one side diligently parked behind her tripod, studying the scene before us all. The photographer was bound and determined to create all her shots in full manual and using every rule she was taught to make the most technically correct photograph she knew how to make.

After viewing some of the photos of that outing, I have to admit the shots were technically correct, but there was something missing that caused them to look flat. The light was right, the colors were right, the composition very appealing, yet something was missing. Then I realized what I wasn’t seeing -- emotion.

The photographer hadn’t thrown caution to the wind and interjected that bit of herself. Without that, the photo didn’t have that joie de vivre that was needed to make it a success. Photography, just like any other art form, truly shines when it tells the emotions of the moment. As we all know, every photo should tell a story, and without emotion, there’s no story.

It’s difficult to bare your soul for the world to see. I remember the first gallery opening at which my photos were displayed. I was terrified! And it was only at that moment I realized my deepest inner thoughts and feelings were hanging on the gallery walls – open for the world to see, analyze, critique, enjoy, etc…a moment of being truly vulnerable. And not just one moment……a moment of vulnerability for every photo hanging in that gallery. A very intense lesson for a total novice. It took me quite some time to get over that, but what a whack-in-the-head-moment” for this photographer.

I frequently find myself holding back when I’m with others that don’t share my intense passion for photography. At the end of those days, I find a collection of very flat photographs. Many might be technically correct, but without the emotion of the moment they’re merely snapshots.

It’s important for successful photographers (amateur or professional), to reveal and interject a part of themselves. You wouldn’t be here searching for more information and resources if photography wasn’t a passion to some degree. Follow your passion. Don’t be afraid to share. That will come to you easily once you practice letting it out and baring your soul in your photographs. Tell the whole story.

There’s no risk in putting another photo in your vacation photo album. But it’s risky to play the sunset. It’s risky to put yourself out there by sharing your artwork. Go out and document the world, and your excitement and passion in seeing it. Realize that the very second you clicked that shutter you’ve caught a moment in time that will never exist again. If you return to that spot 100 times more, the light, the color, the textures you’ve captured in that first photograph will never be repeated.

Be true to yourself and to those you share your artwork with. Shoot the Sunset.

The photo is a sunrise capture taken recently before my fourth eye surgery...needless to say, I’ve come to appreciate my eyes and the passion they afford me through my photography.

How to Find Your Niche and Style in the Photography Market

Aggie Villanueva — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:48:00 GMT

How to Find Your Niche & Style in the Photography Market

Niche Plus Style equals a Photographic Career

As a freelance writer I must have heard a thousand times. “Write what you know.” Why, I taught that myself in my classes. I would expand that to “Write what you know and love.”

That is comparatively easy. I just wrote about what I loved (translate that knew). We all gravitate easily towards what we know and love. And there is no other brain that can write what formulates in our own hearts and minds.

Not so with picture-taking. When I entered the photography market I held a spanking new SLR camera, just like all other professionals use, and wondered how my picture of a landscape could be different than everyone else’s.

Sure I could twist and lie on the ground and wildly change perspectives, but in the end how is my shot really different than everyone else’s? How could I find a niche for my work that no one else could fit into, and no one else could even create?

For me it went something like this:

My Niche: I live in the beautiful foothills of the San Pedro Wilderness, with access to stunning landscapes and crumbling Southwest architecture. I moved here because physically and spiritually I was drawn. Viola – my niche.

My Style: This is harder. One day I was shooting a sunset over a small mountain lake and turned around to see the landscape behind me lit as if the sun were a black light from a 70s Hippie pad.

Upon downloading the days work, that was my favorite photo. But it looked bland and almost colorless compared to what my eyes beheld in person. I thought my camera was defective. I began to play with Photoshop until the scene emerged as a fairy tale path.

I had the light bulb experience as I admired my wonderland work. I thought back to my ex-husband telling me I live in a fairy tale and that life isn’t a fairy tale. I remembered telling him that my life is a fairy tale and if he were to try and taint it I would banish him to Neverneverland.

I studied this dreamy photo of the dirt road leading to my cabin. I thought, “If I live in a fairy tale, and this is the path leading to me, then this must be a Fairy Trail.”

My artistic world was birthed. This was it. This romantic application to my photos in post production was my style. Long story short, I named my gallery of photo art the Fairy Trails Gallery; Portals to Paradise. And that photo is the portal clicked on to enter my path.

Each photo, after I’ve manipulated it to look like I see it, and only I can see it, is magic for me. And if it creates magic for me, there are people out there who will also be drawn to it.

Your Niche is What You Know

Finding your niche may take some time. But spend that time. It is not wasted. With every photo we learn something about technical aspects. Go out regularly photographing. Don’t think about. Just shoot what you enjoy. Soon you’ll you realize your favorite subjects. Stick to them.

Think about where you live. Do you live there by birth or choice? Did you relocate there? Do you love your area, inspired by its beauty? If so, you may be a landscapist, not a portrait photographer, cooped up in a studio all day.

Conversely, if you are captivated by people’s expressions and individual beauty, longing to capture it, you may very well be a portrait photographer. You may live in a dirty city where you don’t even like to go outside. Or see the innate beauty of a fallen leaf afloat in the oil-slick of a city puddle and be counted among our troops of street photographers documenting city life. There are innumerable niches between these extremes.

Your Style is What You Love

Take time to peruse articles and tutorials on your discovered preferences. But don’t bog yourself down with them. You’ll find that reading just one will inspire several ideas and urges. Act on them. Write them down in one place. One day you will see the common thread among them.

Is there something that people have accused you of all your life, like me living in a fairy tale? Often times those criticisms are our strengths being misinterpreted by others. Think about that. Is there a connection between those accusations and the subjects you love to shoot and/or the way you choose to edit those subjects during post processing?

Are you adept at interpreting subtle nuances? Do you prefer things sliced and clean as a minimalist? The fact is, whatever you are, that is your style – simple as that. The rest is technicalities. Just keep shooting and don’t stress over it, and your niche and style will expose itself as truly as that camera in your hands; pun intended.

Adding Depth to a Flat Photo

Aggie Villanueva — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:21:00 GMT

Today I'm in the mood for learning, so my post is a simple explanation about the way I add depth to a photo using Photoshop. I'd love to see what you can share with us too. If you have a PS tip/trick feel free to post it here.

Adding Depth to a Flat Photo

A dear friend taught me to use the history brushes to lighten and darken. As I used them I discovered how I can literally paint in depth with light and shadow in Photoshop.

This process keeps your photo from looking overprocessed when printed large, as the dodge and burn tools tend to do. There is less deterioration using this method.

To use the history brush you must close your photo and then open the photo again and choose the history brush.

At the top of your Photoshop screen set the history brush MODE to MULTIPLY. Adjust the brush to the size you want using a soft brush at about 11-14% opacity, at the top of PS screen, to slightly darken areas that need shading. Do not darken the shadows, just the areas that need more definition. You may even add your own shadowed areas where there are none to create the illusion of depth.

Next set the history brush to SCREEN to highlight areas such as the sun shinning on the tips of the grasses, etc. Again, do not apply to the areas already bright, onlys the areas where the brightness needs to be accentuated. Again you may add your own highlights where there are none to further the illusion of depth.

You'll see what I mean as you start adding depth like this to a picture.

Look at some of the stuff in my gallery www.cielosrojos.com especially the adobes because they tend to loose this light-and-shadow definition in the harsh New Mexico sun and come out flat, so I've had to do a lot of this work on them.

When you're done to your satisfaction, you may want to add a teeny bit more saturation, and then add contrast to your liking until the photo just jumps off the page. Be careful not to overdo the contrast, as it can make everything seem oversharpened, but the right amount will make it pop.

Post Your News

Aggie Villanueva — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:05:00 GMT

Share with all us if you've found a new contest or call to artist, a great magazine or organizition, anything that has helped you in your own photographic life.

Joyce's Posts

Aggie Villanueva — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Check Out the New Posts from Joyce

Paola's Posts

Aggie Villanueva — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:56:00 GMT

Check Out the New Posts from Paola

Post Your Accomplishments

Aggie Villanueva — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:53:00 GMT

Every small to large triumph we hurdle is an encouragement to all.

Please share what you're doing in your photographic life, shoots (with invites to others included if possible), exhibits and shows, fairs, new sales, publications -- absolutely anything you've accomplised. You never know when your news is exactly what some else needs to hear.

Questions

Aggie Villanueva — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:09:00 GMT

Betty's Posts

Aggie Villanueva — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:45:00 GMT

Check Out New Posts from Betty